


Warm Me Up

by seekingsquake



Category: Naruto
Genre: Discord: Umino Hours, Gen, Mission Fic, Pre-Slash, Umino Hours Winter Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:28:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27805351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekingsquake/pseuds/seekingsquake
Summary: He starts another fire as Genma shakes, then he wraps his hands around Genma’s icy ones and blows on his fingers. “I think we need to send a bird,” Genma grits out, his jaw clenched in an attempt to fight the tremors. Iruka waits until he feels some heat come back to Genma’s skin before he pulls a summoning scroll out of his pack.Iruka hates running winter missions. Something always goes sideways.
Relationships: Shiranui Genma & Umino Iruka
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28
Collections: The Umino Hours Winter Bingo 2020





	Warm Me Up

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Согрей меня](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29046942) by [Tamiraina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamiraina/pseuds/Tamiraina), [WTF NARUTO 2021 (WTF_NARUTO_2021)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WTF_NARUTO_2021/pseuds/WTF%20NARUTO%202021)



> A big thanks to [jessicamiriamdrew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessicamiriamdrew/pseuds/jessicamiriamdrew) for giving me a quick beta read <3

It’s been a while since he’s done a mission like this— collecting information from a recon team and running it home— and even longer since he’s done it at this time of year. They’re in the middle of the coldest winter the Land of Fire has seen in upwards of two decades, and the amount of snowfall has been staggering. Konoha shinobi aren’t as used to dealing with the hazards and challenges posed by this type of weather as shinobi from some of the other nations, and a task that was supposed to have taken Iruka three days at most is now coming up on day six.

Covering his tracks has been difficult. Sacrificing speed for stealth is dragging the mission out too long, and he doesn’t have many more rations to keep going at this slow pace. Iruka will have to hope he encounters another Konoha team to send the scroll ahead with; otherwise, he’ll have to risk sending it with a summons unprotected while he stocks up on supplies at the next village before finishing the trek home. 

Everything sucks.

A running theme through Iruka’s life, though, is that as soon as he thinks things can’t get worse, they do. So, of course, he happens across a smattering of blood on a tree and a scrap of blue fabric that he  _ knows _ is from a Konoha uniform. It doesn’t take him long to find a trail of blood droplets and haphazardly covered footprints that suggest a leg injury. He follows the path to the mouth of an underground cave, and he whistles a series of short, low notes that will signify  _ ally  _ to whichever Konoha shinobi may be hiding inside.

When he hears the whistle repeated back to him, he crawls inside and finds Shiranui Genma curled up in the back of the cave, his left leg stretched out in front of him and wrapped tightly in pieces of a shirt. An ANBU mask is on the ground beside him, and the contents of his pack are strewn around. There are the remnants of a fire on the ground near him, but the ashes are long cold. “The cavalry finally came?” he asks, hoarse, and Iruka grimaces.

“Unfortunately, not quite.”

For the first time, Genma lifts his head and peers at Iruka, and the look that crosses his face is faintly surprised and then resigned. “Found me by accident, huh? Lucky you’re a friendly.”

Iruka hurries father into the cave and settles beside Genma, resolutely not taking note of which mask Genma’s got. He shoves it into Genma’s pack while surveying the supplies and comparing them against what he has left. “Are you being chased?”

“I shouldn’t be; my mission parameters have been met. Are you?”

“Not yet. I’m going to look at your leg, okay?”

Iruka knows Genma reasonably well; they’ve worked at the mission desk together for a few years. He wouldn’t be surprised if Genma was doing that on orders from ANBU, keeping an eye on the goings-on in the Hokage Tower, or as an undercover line of defence. He’s never worked with Genma in the field before, though, and feels a bit awkward as he unwraps Genma’s leg. “It’s not broken,” Genma supplies quietly, “but my calf muscle is fucked, and I know the cut’s too deep for me to deal with. You don’t happen to have a coagulate in your med-bag, do you?”

They both sigh when Iruka shakes his head. It’s not a good situation. They’re far enough away from the border that Iruka doesn’t want to send out a flare, but Genma needs medical attention that Iruka can’t provide. Maybe he could still send a summons with his intel and a message to send an extraction team, but that’s a risk he’s not sure he should take yet. 

But first thing’s first. He redresses Genma’s leg and says, “I’m going to get firewood. You’re freezing.”

“The smoke will give us away,” Genma argues, but a shiver wracks his body.

Iruka gives him a pointed stare. “I’ll handle it. Be back in a blink.” Then he crawls back to the mouth of the cave and proceeds into the woods. He’s not gone for more than twenty minutes before he returns with enough kindling to last them at least until tomorrow. He sets up a few traps around the cave and surrounding trees and then uses his last few pieces of seal paper to create a type of barrier seal that will contain any smoke or smells from their fire. When he’s finished, Iruka moves back into the cave and settles beside Genma once again to get a fire going.

Once that’s done, Iruka strips his flak vest off and drapes it over Genma’s shoulders. Genma leans into him almost imperceptibly and takes a few measured breaths. “Any ideas?” he asks quietly, tired.

“A couple,” Iruka replies, just as soft. He tells Genma his two plans, and they go over what they have, what they need if they’re going to be stuck there for a length of time, and the pros and cons of each plan of action. Before they can make any decisions, though, Genma yawns, his whole body trembles, and his eyelids start drooping. The cold makes him tired, and as much as Iruka is nervous about letting him sleep, he knows the rest will help Genma’s mental faculties. “Rest,” he whispers after Genma tries to shake himself awake for the third time.

Genma studies him through bleary eyes before shrugging and hunkering down. “Wake me in a couple hours.”

◇◇◇

It’s pitch black when Iruka jerks awake to the sound of chattering teeth beside him. “Genma,” he whispers, groping in the darkness until his hand connects with his comrade. Genma responds with a grunt but doesn’t speak. The fire is dead beside them, so Iruka fumbles in his pack until he finds a glow stick, which he cracks to give himself some light. 

He starts another fire as Genma shakes, then he wraps his hands around Genma’s icy ones and blows on his fingers. “I think we need to send a bird,” Genma grits out, his jaw clenched in an attempt to fight the tremors. Iruka waits until he feels some heat come back to Genma’s skin before he pulls a summoning scroll out of his pack. 

He summons an owl and gives it the scroll of intel he picked up from his mission. On a scrap piece of paper from Genma’s pack, he writes down their location and a brief summary of their situation and condition and then sends the bird home. After that, he shuffles the both of them closer to the fire’s edge and presses up against Genma’s back in an attempt to share body heat. 

◇◇◇

One of Iruka’s traps goes off outside, and before he or Genma can react, they hear the code whistle. Genma whistles back then collects his gear. “If you take my pack, I think I can drag myself to the entrance.”

Iruka shoulders Genma’s bag but says, “Maybe you should let the medic check you out first.” 

Genma, a little delirious, sticks his tongue out at Iruka but stays put. Iruka exits the cave and meets a three-man squad of jonin at the mouth. They give Iruka a few extra food rations, and then the medic ducks in to speak with Genma. It’s only around twenty minutes before the five of them are ready to head home.

◇◇◇

Iruka knocks on the doorframe, then pokes his head through the open door. Genma is laid up in the hospital bed, his leg wrapped in a heavy layer of bandages and elevated. He’s reading through what looks like a mission report, but he puts it down when he sees Iruka. “Hey,” he greets, still sounding tired.

“Hey,” Iruka says, lifting a takeout bag and shaking it gently. “I brought you some lunch.”

Genma smiles, then pats the mattress, indicating Iruka should sit. “Oooh, it’s still hot,” he murmurs as he reaches into the bag and pulls out a bowl of soup. “Kept it safe like you kept me safe, huh Iruka-sensei?”

A breath catches in Iruka’s throat, and a blush blooms over his cheeks, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he hands Genma a spoon and a pair of chopsticks before pulling out a bowl of soup for himself. Before he can pop the plastic lid off the top, Genma wraps his fingers around Iruka’s wrist. 

Genma’s fingers are warm, and the feel of them on Iruka’s skin sets heat travelling up his arm to settle in his face. “Thank you,” Genma says, staring at Iruka with clear green eyes, his mouth pulled into the slightest of smiles. 

Iruka tries to will his blush away, but the longer he looks Genma in the eyes, the worse it gets. He clears his throat. “Let’s eat,” he croaks, and when Genma laughs and releases him, the warmth in his cheeks persists.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic fills the "keeping warm" square on my bingo board!


End file.
